Little Walter - Hate To See You Go LP

Label: Chess Records; Year: 1990; Format: Vinyl LP

Not too long ago I watched the movie Cadillac Records which chronicles the rise of Leonard Chess, a Polish Jewish immigrant in Chicago and famous for having created Chess Records. While I thought that the movie was alright for what it is I did enjoy the actors playing the roles of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf or Little Walter. This morning I definitely didn't feel like putting on a punk or hardcore record as my head was a bit foggy and god knows what my body has been trying to shake off for some time now, but don't you worry the virus won't jump over the intranet. Good news is though that I was in the mood to listen to some music and I remembered that I have this Little Walter LP on my shelves, an ideal record to relax to without increasing the fogg levels so to speak. Marion Walters Jacobs (Little Walter) was born in Louisiana in 1930 and learned to play the harmonica by the time he was twelve years old. Like many other blues musicians he worked his way up to Chicago through the South by reaching the shores of Lake Michigan in 1947. Walter is for many reasons being regarded as one of the two best and most influential blues harmonica players, the other one being Sonny Boy Williamson. Like so many other of his peers in Chicago Walter played on Maxwell Street before meeting up and joining Muddy Waters' band. It is needless to say that together they created the standard that all Chicago blues bands would be judged by, and rightfully so. I can only imagine how exciting it must have been to hear the newly-electrified harmonica riffs for the first time, but for that you had to be there. The tracks on this originally in 1969 released LP were all recorded between 1952, Walter's first year as a solo artist for Chess, and 1960. Since the songs were recorded over a period spanning several years one would think that they might sound very different only to be reminded that back in the '50s time and trends didn't move as fast as they do today and artists were more likely to stick to what they knew and loved instead of trying to reinvent themselves over and over. One of the best songs on the album is the song "Roller Coaster", a wonderful instrumental, on which a certain Bo Diddley is cited as "probably" having played the guitar. The earliest track ,"Blue Midnight", features Muddy Waters, and is another outstanding track. On most of the tracks Little Walter is accompanied by Willie Dixon on bass and Fred Below on drums and the guitar often played by Robert Lockwood Jr.. You really can't go wrong with this record if you like Chicago blues and/or would like to learn more about it. Little Walter packed in a lot in his short life and died at the age of thirty-eight in 1968. He left behind a lot of great music and for that we should be eternally grateful. 

Lightnin' Hopkins - Flash Lightnin' Volume One LP 

Label: Diving Duck Records; Year: 1985; Format: Vinyl LP

This was the first LP I had bought of Lightnin' Hopkins some years back at Flashback Records in London, UK where I spent quite a few Saturday afternoons. I knew of Mr. Hopkins and have at that time liked 'the blues' for some time hence it was time I started a little collection of his. In the meantime I have bought quite a few more of his recordings but looking at his extensive catalogue I will never hear all of his recorded material, that much is guaranteed. Anyway this is a perfect record to spin with your coffee on a weekend morning as it kindly smoothes you into the day with thirteen tracks recorded in 1954. According to the sleeve notes on this record said year marked the end of Hopkins' most creative period and a lot of the recorded material was never released on record until these two volumes on Dutch label Diving Duck. Sam 'Lighnin' Hopkins was born in Texas in 1912 and died in Houston, TX in 1982. At a very early age he fell in love with the music of Blind Lemon Jefferson and in the '20s and '30s Sam used to accompany Texas Alexander by playing on the streets or buses. The tracks on this record all fall between two and three minutes and many of them deal with Sam's longing for a lost woman, something not unusual for blues artists of that time. Most of the songs are mid-tempo blues numbers with Hopkins' typical deep and cracky voice while two or three numbers are upbeat and faster introducing early rock'n'roll tendencies. All in all this is a highly enjoyable record and many more Lightnin' reviews will be coming your way in the not so distant future, stay tuned!

V/A - SOUTHERN BLUES (Roots of Rock N' Roll Vol. 11) 2-LP

Label: Savoy Records; Year: 1981; Format: Double-LP

Blues is a form of music I have learned to appreciate increasingly over the years. Whenever I can I pick up Blues records without being all that knowledgable about the artists. But over time I have learnt more and more about certain artists and styles of blues which to be fair could take you a lifetime to learn about. On this wonderful Double-LP compilation I was of course familiar with John Lee Hooker but then again who isn't if you are remotely interested in the history of music in general. John Lee Hooker contributes to a whole side on this 2-LP and his tracks were recorded in Detroit in 1948. They are all quite rudimentary and representative of what was to come in the future. All the other artists on this compilation I was not familiar with at all and was positively surprised with. The styles differ from the raw blues of John Lee Hooker with just his guitar to a more upbeat jazzy style performed by bands supporting the main artist. Little Boy Fuller and Ralph Willis stand out to me and they split the Side B of Record 1. Their contributions were recorded in New York in 1948 and are just amazing to be listening to all these years later. Side C and D on the other record don't disappoint either and make this highly recommended if you want to dig into Blues from a non-connoisseur vantage point like myself.